Canadian Music Trade - February / March - Page 29

DOUBLE-DECK MEZZANINES
WORK BENCHES WITH LAZY SUSAN
This way, during slow times, a manager can
man the counter while also doing some
paperwork, making for a better utilization
of space.
For stores that do repairs, a good way
to consolidate work benches is to use a Lazy
Susan for small parts and tools. Four work
benches arranged in a square with a central
Lazy Susan and shelving above creates a lot of
functionality in a smaller space.
For merchandising on the show room
floor, Miller’s first tip is to use swinging panels
made out of slatwall, peg board, or wired grid.
This way, he says, the retailer can fit 13 ft. of
merchandise in a 4-ft. section. On endcaps,
he advises including power panels that add
extra selling space in the same footprint. “We
average an extra 3 ft. of wall space on every
endcap or peggable space of small shelf or
bin space,” Miller says. “We also use sliding
panels, so where one panel slides in front of
MOBILE AISLE SHELVING
the other, so we can add 50 to 100 per cent
more merchandise in a 4-ft. section.”
A few other simple tips are to add back-
bones to browser bins so that the raised bin
can display product while storage is created
underneath. Also, using drop hooks or peg
hooks. “If you don’t have the adjustability and
you want to get that extra product in, they
do make peg hooks where the weld of the
hook is dropped down lower or higher, so
there’s your adjustability. So instead of the peg
coming straight out, it’s dropped down an
inch or two and you can get that product in
above it. So that’s another way of trying to eke
out another row of merchandise.”
Flexibility in function and display is also a
key element. “Mobile gondolas and anything
on wheels is a good way to go because then
you can change your look very easily and
create some interest, instead of a piece of
furniture that is always in the same place and
has the same presentation every time people
come, and then people are not motivated to
come in the store,” says Miller.
At the checkout counter area, Miller
also says he commonly uses recessed slatwall
shadowboxes. “Basically, there is a slatwall
shadow box that screws right to the front of
the counter that covers up the back of the
cash register with all the wires and junk that
accumulates there and it frees up the counter
for customer space so they can unload their
hands and not have all that clutter on the top
of the counter,” he adds. “The top of the count-
er becomes more like a shopping cart. We’ve
done that in a lot of stores and increased the
average ticket sale because people are going
to unload their hands and buy other stuff.”
The psychology of customers is an
important thing to consider. For instance,
creating wider aisles, if possible, creates
more breathing room for the eye. “The more
cramped the store, the less amount of time
the average female shopper wants to shop
in the store. They’re very attuned to their
space needs. It’s psychological; 80 per cent
of the population suffers from some type
of claustrophobia,” he notes. “We just did a
big chain up in Canada where we did a lot
of these changes and we got an average in-
crease of about 28 per cent in sales and freed
up an extra 70 ft. of wall space and kept the
average female shopper in the store about 28
minutes to 40 minutes longer.”
If a store is a visual train wreck, as Miller
puts it, it’s harder for the shopper’s eye to
focus on any individual display item. “So we
have merchandising tools that can showcase
an item and feature it by changing the colour
of slatwall or putting it in a picture frame
with slatwall. Just changing the colour of the
slatwall accentuates what’s being displayed.”
Lastly, Miller says colour and lighting
are terribly ignored elements in many MI
stores. “They’ll go in and put the same colour
of slatwall in the entire store. For most it’s
white – Sam Ash, to give you an example.
You just go in there and it’s all white. There is
nothing to attract the eye. There are no focal
points where we create, like, a stage. There
aren’t layers of lighting to create interest and
trigger impulse sales,” he says. “I would say
95 per cent of music stores have one layer
of light and that’s what the landlord gave
them and they don’t want to spend money
for track lighting or accent lighting or task
lighting… They say it’s important but they
don’t invest in anything to create hotspots
and trigger impulse sales and show the
sparkle or show the paint colours. Good
colour rendering lightbulbs are imperative
to creating that environment.”
Michael Raine is the Senior Editor
of Canadian Music Trade
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
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